Inclined passenger elevators



Oct. 14, 1958 L.E.SCHRYVER INCLINED PASSENGER ELEVATORS Filed Aug. 24,1955 v INVENTOR. 5w c//Hwf/P BY l Y- Mm ,gramm/5y@ Oct. M, 1958 E.scHRYvl-:R 2,856,027r

INCLINED PASSENGER ELEVATORS Filed'Aug. 24, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR f1/f Samy/5f? Oct. M, 1958 L. E. sczl-IRYVER 2,855,027

INCLINED PASSENGER ELEVATORS l Filed Aug. 24, 1955 v 4 sheets-sheetl :s

' y @Trae/vins 067i' M 1958 L. E. scHRYvl-:R' 2,856,07

INCLINED PASSENGER ELEVATORS Filed Aug. 24, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4JNVENToR. n? T Saw/WM5@ BY W'TMLJQ! 'A niteci States INCLINED PASSENGERELEVATORS Application August 24, 1955, Serial No. 530,373

4 Claims.` -(Cl. IBL-12) 4 This vinvention relates to elevators and aimsto provide an improved inclined passenger elevator of the type whichtravels along a plane parallel to, and yat the side of, a ight'ofstairs.

Passenger elevators of the inclined plane type with which this inventionis concerned are designed for installation in private dwellings. Theyare intended for use primarily by aged or inrm persons who nd itdiflicult or impossible to climb aight 'of stairs. Such elevators mustbe of a rugged and compact construction and, as they are usuallyinstalledl along a side of a ilight of stairs in an existing dwelling,they must be of a simplied construction which can be readily adapted toan existing condition. Such elevators will accommodate only one personat a time, and as the user is usually an aged or partially disabledperson; they must be of easy but completely safe operation. Also theymust be of a limited size so that they will not obstruct or prevent theuse of the stairs along which they are inclined.

The elevators which have been provided for installation and operationalong a llight of stairs in they past have left much to be desiredinsofar as concerns fulfillmentk of the requirements enumerated above. Aprincipal diiculty has been that elevators which have met requirementsfor compactness and ruggedness have been so expensive to install thattheir cost has been prohibitive for the great majority of those who mostrequire such a device.

l have'discovered that it is possible to install a passenger elevatorfor operation along a Hight of stairs at a cost which, compared withprevious devices, is very moderate and that this may be done withoutsacricingthe features of compact yet rugged construction and at thelsame time providing safety factors heretofore unobtainable in passengerelevators of this type. The passenger elevator which l haveinventedincludes a rail which can be attached to thewall' of a dwellingalong the side'of a flight of stairs and a carriage which rides up anddown along that rail. contains yan electric motor which `supplies theAmotive power for the elevator. The electric motor drives areel whichwinds or unwinds a cable to pull the elevator to the top of thellight ofstairs or permit it to descend to the bottom. A chair is pivotallymounted on thehousing .so that it may be swung from a riding positionwhich permits the occupantto look. eitherupstairs or downstairs by amere turn of` the head to a position which permits the. occupant to`stepfrom the chair directly upon a landing at the topof the stairswithouttouching the stairs themselves. A normally open switch which iscontained in` an electric circuit forthe elevator motor is mounted onthe chairand isadapted to engage the housing; so thatit is closed onlywhen vthe. chair is in riding position. The chairis swung awayy fromriding position whenaiperson enters `or leaves the elevatorat the top ofaflightof stairs.v Stillf, it is not. possible forzthezelevator todescend with. a. passengerr until, after suchl passenger` The carriagesupports a housing which arent ice has actually entered the elevator andvassumed a normal. riding position.

The specilic embodiment of my inventionwhich I now prefer is illustratedin the ,accompanying drawings. in which:

Fig. 1 is a front, elevation of an elevator embodying. my invention inwhich the chair is located in the riding position;

Fig. 2 is a sideV velevation of the elevator in Fig. 1; t

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation ,off my elevatorshowingthe mounting of thecarriage on thefrail along .which it rides;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of my elevator;

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the chair frame;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the` chairframe;`

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section .along the lines 7-7 of Fig. 8 showingthereleasable lock. which holds thechair in riding position; v

Fig. 8 is a section along the lines 8.--.8-of: Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a wiring diagram ofthe electric circuitfor the elevatormotor.

illustrated The apparatus illustrated in the drawings includes ay rail15 which is attached toa rigidbase .16 `so thatV it will just clear aflight of stairs (not shown). -A car-V riage 17 is providedwithtwo'pairs'of rollers 18 and 19 which engage the upper, and ,lowersides respectively of the rail 15. The carriage 17 is heldl in uprightpositionI on therail l5 by rollers 20 which engage the inner side oftherail and the rollers 21 which engage theouter edge.

of the rail.

A housing 23 `is fastened` to the ,carriage 17- through, bolts 24 whichextend through arcuate slotsv 25 in the.

carriage. This permits theV housinglto be located onv a horizontaljplaneeven though the inclination of the rail may be varied ratherconsiderably. The housing 23 com tains an electric motor 26 and a cablereel 27.V A cable 28 has one end attached to the, reel 27 and the other:

end is fixed to an anchor (not shown) at the Vtopof the stairs vso thatwhen the 'motor is driven forward ,it will: wind the'reel 27 to draw upcable thus pulling` the `elevaftor to the top of the stairs or, when themotor.isreversed,.=

the reel unwinds paying out cable. which. permitsY the. elevator todescend to the bottom of the stairs.

the bottom of chair 30. A second point of supportfor the chairv 30 isprovided by la roller 34 journalled on the chair at its bottom so thatit may ride'the top of housing 23 along an arc which has shaft 33 as itscenter.

The chair 30 includes'a frame 35, back 36, arms 137 and seat 38. Theseat is pivoted to frame 35 at 40 so that ,it

maybe swung upward from the position shown in. fullE lines in Fig. 2 tothat shown in dottedlines in. that same: figure where it will notrobstruct the ystairs whenthe chairzis,` not in use. The housing alsocontains a foot rest 41 piv-v oted at 42 so that it may be swung fromthe riding positionA illustrated in full lines in Fig. 2 to the positionillustrated` in dotted lines in that same figure where it will notinter-Y fere with persons who wish to make normal use` of. the..

stairs.

The motor 26, which is a single phase -120 capacifI matically in thewiring diagram of Fig. 9 with'the parts-l which are operative in closingcircuit 45 designated by the letter U and theparts wbichare operative inclosing Afchair.. indicated generallyat 30, is carried by `housing 23;.A. bracket 31 which is bolted to therear faceof housingv 23 bears ajournal 32 for shaft 33 which projects from,

circuit 46 designated by the letter D. Energy is supplied to thefour-pole relay from the leads 47, 48 through transformer 51. Thecircuit 45 can be closed when the operator pulls switch 50 upward as faras it will go; the circuit 46 can be closed when the operator pushesswitch 50 downas far as it .will go; and, when no pressure is exerted,on that switch by the operator, it is held in the neutral open positionby a spring (not shown).

The elevator can also be caused to ascend by closing a push-button typecall switch 53 located at the'top of the ilightA of stairs served by theelevator, or it may be caused to descend by closing push-button typeswitch 54 located at the bottom of the' stairs.

v In addition to the operating switch and call switches that havebeenAdescribed, additional safety switches are'provided: The carriage 17supports a bracket 56 which contains an upper limit switch 57 and alower limit switch 5S. When the elevator reaches the top of the stairswhich it serves, a stop 59 engages switch 57 opening that switch andcausing the elevator to stop even though switch 50 maybe closed. A likestop 60 supported bythe rail 15 near Aits botom engages switch 58 whenthe elevator reaches the bottom of the stairs which it serves, therebyopening that switch, and the motor is stopped even though switch 50 isstill held in closed position by the operator.

Another safety switch 68 is carried by the chair 30. The safety switch68 is provided with a spring (not shown) which urges that switch toassume the open position. When the `chair 30 occupies the operatingposition illustrated in Figs. l and 2, for instance, the switch 68engages the top of housing 23, and that switch is then held in closedposition. However, if the chair is pivoted away from the ridingposition, switch 68 opens, and the elevator is automatically stopped,even though operating switch 50 is still closed.

The elevatoriis also provided with a combined safety switch and stop,mounted on carriage 17 and actuated Whenever slack occurs in cable 28: Aswitch 62' is mounted on the carriage 17 for pivotal movement and isurged to rotate in a clockwise direction by a spring (not shown). Theswitch 62 is closedwhen in the position illustrated in Fig. 3 and isheld in such position by a system of pivoted links 63, 64 and 65 whenthe elevator is in normal operation.V The link 63 carries a roller 66which rides on the taut cable 28. If any slack should occur in thatcable the spring-67 causes link 65 to pivot in a counterclockwisedirection permitting switch 62 to pivot in a clockwise direction andopen the circuit. At

the same time the link`65, which normally rides above the rail y15,swings downwardly jamming against the rail and thereby electivelypreventing the elevator from descending. 1 v

The chair 30` is prevented from acidentally swinging away from theoperating position lby the rel'easable catchillustratedin Figs. 7 and 8.Fixed to the top yof the housing 23 isa tapered stop 70 which isprovided with aY tranverse dwell 71 adapted to hold the roller 72. Aplate 73 which bears bolts 74, 75 is fixed to the chair frame 35. Abracket 76 which is adapted to ride up and down on bolts 74, 75 andwhich is centered by upper springs 78 and lower springs 79, supports theaxle 80 for roller 72. When the chair is in normal riding position, theroller 72 rests in the dwell 71, and more force is then required topivot the chair than would be applied 'to it accidentally when theelevator is in operation.

Themotor 26 is provided with an automatic safety brake 82. This brake 82is a conventional shoe-type brake which is normally heldin closedposition by a spring (not shown). When the solenoid -83 is energized,the brake is released. Thus, it will be seen that the brake is appliedautomatically to prevent rotation of the cable reel whenever there isany interruption of the current owing through the up circuit 45 or thedown circuit 46. VTheoperation of the elevator which I have described isas follows: Assume that a person who is at the bottom of a ight ofstairs wishes to ride to the top. If the elevator is then at the bottomof the stairs, it is merely necessary for that person to seat himself inthe chair with his back to the wall so that the releasable catch isengaged. Then by pulling up on the switch 50 and retaining it in upwardposition, the elements of the fourpole relay, which are identified withthe letter U,- actuate' their associated switches, the circuit isclosed, the solenoid 83 releases the brake 82, and the elevator as--cends until switch 57 is opened by stop 59 at the top of the stairs,thereby opening the circuit, de-energizing the solenoid 83 and settingbrake 82. Then the operator may merely turn the chair to the positionwhere his feet swing from the foot rest 41 to the stair platform and hemay leave the chair without diiculty.

To cause the chair to descend, the operator seats himself in the chairat the stair landing, swings the chair to the riding position anddepresses switch 50. This causes the elements marked D in the four-polerelay to actuate` their associated switches, thereby closing the circuit46, energizing solenoid83, releasing brake 82 and causing motor 26 tounwind cable from the reel 27. The circuit is opened and the elevator isstopped when switch 58 is engaged and opened by stop 60.

If the elevator is not at the level where the operator wishes to enterit, he need merely push the up call button 53, or the down call button54, as the case may be. The appropriate circuit is thus closed andtheelevator ascends or descends to the point where it is to be entered.

It is an important feature of my invention that the elevator cannot becaused to ascend or descend unless the chair is in riding position withthe back of the operator to the wall so that he is supported at thesides by the arms of the chair, andthe possibility of accident isreduced to a minimum. Furthermore, even-if the operator of the elevatorwere to turn in his chair to observe his ascent or descent, thereleasable latch will prevent the chair from, swinging to a positionwhere the operator is not supported at his sides by the chair armswith'his feet over the stairs and his back to the wall.A

The terms which I have employed -in describing the preferred embodimentof my invention which is illustrated in the drawings are terms ofdescription and not of limitation, and it is to be understood thatdepartures may be made from the detailed construction-of the specilcembodiment of my invention which I have described without departing fromthe spirit of my invention as it is dened in the following claims.

What I claim is:

, 1. A passenger elevator comprising the combination, with -a `railadapted to be mounted in inclined position along the side of a flight ofstairs, of a carriage adapted to be mounted for movement on said railand to be pulled along the same by a cable, a housing supported by saidcarriage, a cable reel mounted in said housing, an electric motoradapted to rotate said reel, a chair mounted on said housing for pivotalmovement about a vertical Aaxisso that it may be swung from a ridingposition to another position, and a normally open switch mounted on saidchair and contained in the electric circuit for said motor and adaptedto engage said housing so that it is closed onlywhen the chair is inriding position.

2. A passenger elevator comprising the combination, with a rail adaptedto be mounted in inclined position along lthe side of a. ight of stairs,of a carriage adapted to be mounted for movement on said rail and to bepulled alongA the same by a cable, a housing supported by said carriage,a cable reel mounted in said housing, an electric motor adapted torotate said reel, a chair mounted on said housing for pivotal movementabout a vertical axis so that itV may be swung from a riding position toanother position, a releasable latch adapted to hold the chair in ridingposition, anda normally open switch mounted on said chair and containedin the electric circuit for said motor and adapted to engage saidhousing so that it is closed only when the chair is in riding position.

3. A passenger elevator comprising the combination, with a rail adaptedto be mounted in inclined position along the side of a flight of stairs,of a carriage adapted to be mounted for movement on said rail and to bepulled -along the same by a cable, a housing supported by said carriage,a cable reel mounted in said housing, an electric motor adapted torotate said reel, a chair having a vertical supporting shaft Xed theretoadjacent its upper inside corner, a bracket Xed to said housing, ajournal carried by said bracket and providing a bearing for said shaftso that the chair may be pivoted from a riding position substantiallycentered above said housing to another position, and a normally openswitch mounted on said chair and contained in the electric circuit forsaid motor and adapted to engage said housing so that it is closed onlywhen the chair is in riding position.

4. A passenger elevator comprising the combination,

with a rail adapted to be mounted in inclined position along the side ofa flight of stairs, of a carriage adapted to be mounted formovement onsaid rail and to be pulled along the same by a cable, motive power forsaid carriage comprising an electric motor supported thereby, a housingfor said electric motor, a chair mounted on said housing for pivotalmovement about a vertical axis so that it may be swung from a ridingposition to another position, a normally open switch contained in theelectric circuit for said motor and adapted to engage said housing sothat it is closed only when the chair is in riding position, a brakeadapted to engage said electric motor when the circuit therefor is open,and means for disengaging said brake when the electric motor circuit isclosed.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,768,650 Wood July 1, 1930 2,212,388 Cheney Aug. 20, 1940 2,619,195Scott Nov. 25, 1952 2,719,607 Scott Oct. 4, 1955

